The present invention generally relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information providing medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information providing medium that implement the exchange of information between users through an object in a virtual reality space.
A cyberspace service named Habitat (registered trademark) is known in so-called personal computer communications services such as NIFTY-Serve (registered trademark) of Japan and CompuServe (registered trademark) of US in which a plurality of users connect their personal computers via modems and public telephone networks to the host computers installed at the centers of the services to access them in predetermined protocols.
Development of Habitat started in 1985 by Lucas Film of the US, operated by Quantum Link, one of US commercial networks, for about three years. Then, Habitat started its service in NIFTY-Serve as Fujitsu Habitat (trademark) in February 1990. In Habitat, users can send their alter egos called avatars (the incarnation of a god figuring in the Hindu mythology) as virtual reality objects into a virtual reality city called Populopolis drawn by two-dimensional graphics to have a chat (namely, a realtime conversation based on text entered and displayed) with each other in the virtual reality city. For further details of Habitat, refer to the Japanese translation xe2x80x9cpp. 282-307xe2x80x9d of xe2x80x9cCyberspace: First Steps,xe2x80x9d Michael Benedikt, ed., 1991, MIT Press Cambridge, Mass., ISBN0-262-02327-X, the translation being published Mar. 20, 1994, by NTT Publishing, ISBN4-87188-265-9C0010.
In the conventional cyberspace systems operated by personal computer communications services such as mentioned above, a virtual reality street and the inside of a room for example are drawn in two-dimensional graphics. Therefore, moving an avatar in the depth direction is realized simply by moving it up and down in the background of the two-dimensional graphics. This results in a poor expression in simulating walking and movement in a virtual reality space. Also, the two-dimensional virtual reality space in which own avatar and the avatar of another user are displayed is viewed from a viewpoint of a third party, thereby impairing the sense of simulated experience.
To overcome this drawback, a capability that enables a user to walk as desired with the viewpoint of the avatar of the user in a virtual reality space represented in three-dimensional graphics is realized by use of a three-dimensional graphics data description language called VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 09-81781 corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/678,340. Considerations about various cyberspaces in which chat is made by use of the avatar of a user are described in NIKKEI Electronics, Sep. 9, 1996, No. 670, pp. 151-159.
Recently, breeding simulation games for breeding tropical fish and a virtual reality creature having artificial intelligence living in a virtual reality world for example have come to be available as personal computer software programs. A product is also known that displays a simulated pet such as a dog or a cat on an electronic notepad to enjoy the process of its growth (refer to NIKKEI Electronics, Apr. 7, 1997, No. 686, pp. 131-134). In addition, xe2x80x9cTamagotchixe2x80x9d (registered trademark) developed and commercialized by Bandai Co. is widely known that is an egg-sized portable virtual reality pet with a breeding simulation game program as mentioned above incorporated.
Virtual reality pets of this type have a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) and so on mounted on a single-chip LSI (Large Scale Integration), a breeding simulation game program being stored in the ROM, the figure and state of the pet being displayed on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) device. The user gives such instructions by operating buttons as xe2x80x9cfeedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cclean upxe2x80x9d for example necessary for breeding the virtual reality creature as a pet. As a result of caring, the virtual reality creature displayed on the LCD grows stepwise from an egg to a chick to a grown-up bird for example in its external view.
The virtual reality creature is programmed such that proper instructions given help the virtual reality creature grow without problem and improper instructions given make it sick or, in the worst case, die. Further, the virtual reality creature is programmed to make various requests based on the time elapsing from its birth provided by an incorporated calendar timer. For example, in the nighttime zone, the virtual reality creature requests a sleep and, in the mealtime zone, it requests food. In other times, the virtual reality creature requests, at random, snack and play for example. If the user fails to answer these requests properly, the growth of the virtual reality creature may be retarded or its character worsens. If the user answers properly, the life of the virtual reality creature is lengthened.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 07-160853 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,646 discloses a technology applicable to an electronic notepad for example for displaying images according to the growth processes of a virtual reality creature such as an animal or a plant. To be more specific, bit-map images representing the growth processes of a plant character for example are stored in the ROM in the electronic notepad. The plant character according to the degree of growth is displayed on the LCD of the electronic notepad and, at the same time, characters representing plant growing elements (water, light, and fertilizer for example) are displayed. Necessary amounts of these growing elements are inputted by operating corresponding keys on the electronic notepad. The inputted values are set to a water-amount indicating register, a light-amount indicating register, and a fertilizer-amount indicating register respectively in the RAM of the electronic notepad. Based on the values set to these registers, a new degree of growth is computed. Then, the plant character corresponding to the computed degree of growth is read from the ROM to be displayed on the LCD. Thus, the plant growth process according to the state of cultivation by the user is displayed.
For the means of communication between users in a virtual reality space, so-called chat is available. However, chat is carried out only by users accessing a virtual reality space at the same time. Therefore, the other users have no communication means in the virtual reality space.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information providing medium that provide a communication means for users who are not accessing a shared virtual reality space at the same time by passing a calling card of one of these users to a virtual reality life object reared by another.
In carrying out the invention and according to a first aspect thereof, there is provided an information processing method for an information processing apparatus to be provided with a shared virtual reality space from a server through a network along with another information processing apparatus, comprising steps of: instructing an object related to a user in the shared virtual reality space to obtain predetermined information arranged in the shared virtual reality space; and receiving the predetermined information from the object.
In carrying out the invention and according to a second aspect thereof, there is provided an information processing apparatus connected to a server through a network to be provided with a shared virtual reality space along with another information processing apparatus, comprising: instructing means for generating instructing information for instructing an object related to a user in the shared virtual reality space to obtain predetermined information arranged in the shared virtual reality space; and receiving means for receiving the predetermined information from the object.
In carrying out the invention and according to a third aspect thereof, there is provided an information providing medium for providing control information allowing an information processing apparatus connected to a server through a network along with another information processing apparatus to be provided with a shared virtual reality space from the server, the control information comprising steps of: instructing means for generating instructing information for instructing an object related to a user in the shared virtual reality space to obtain predetermined information arranged in the shared virtual reality space; and receiving means for receiving the predetermined information from the object.
In carrying out the invention and according to a fourth aspect thereof, there is provided an information processing method for providing a shared virtual reality space to a plurality of client apparatuses through a network, comprising steps of: controlling an autonomous behavior of an object existing in the shared virtual reality space; and transferring information obtained by the object in the shared virtual reality space to a user related to the object.
In carrying out the invention and according to a fifth aspect thereof, there is provided an information processing apparatus for providing a shared virtual reality space to a plurality of clients interconnected through a network, comprising: control means for controlling an autonomous behavior of an object existing in the shared virtual reality space; and transfer means for transferring information obtained by the object in the shared virtual reality space to a user related to the object.
In carrying out the invention and according to a sixth aspect thereof, there is provided an information providing medium for providing control information for providing a shared virtual reality space to a plurality of client apparatus through a network, comprising steps of: controlling an autonomous behavior of an object existing in the shared virtual reality space; and transferring information obtained by the object in the shared virtual reality space to a user related to the object.